Dr. Charles “Rosy” Rosewall, 90

April 13, 2012

Burbank, Calif. Dr. Charles (Rosy) Rosewall, age 90, died on March 20, 2012, at Providence/St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, Calif. Dr. Rosewall was born Oct. 1, 1921, in Blue Earth, where his parents owned the Rosewall Clothing Store.

Raised in Blue Earth with his brother Richard and educated for a time at the University of Minnesota, Charles enlisted in the Army Air Force shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He married Betty Harper of Texas and moved to Sacramento, Calif., for flight training, graduating as a Lieutenant Navigator in November 1942.

Based in England with the 8th Air Force Division the following spring, Lt. Rosewall flew missions over Germany until his B-17 was shot down in August 1943 in the Schweinfort-Regensberg raid on a ball-bearing factory, a mission during which the 8th lost a full quarter of its planes. Lt. Rosewall was captured and held in a Stalag-Luft prison camp administered by the German Air Force until May 1945.

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Dr. Charles Rosewall

Returning to his wife and a daughter born ten weeks after his capture, Lt. Rosewall finished his education on the GI Bill, graduating from the University of Washington Medical School with a MD in Psychiatry in June 1951. He did his residency at Letterman Army Medical Center at the Presidio in San Francisco before being transferred to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. Dr. Rosewall retired from the Air Force in 1959 with the rank of Captain, and subsequently entered private practice in Texas and California. His first marriage ended in 1962.

In 1972, Dr. Rosewall married actress Elena Verdugo in Los Angeles, Calif. Ms. Verdugo was well-known as the nurse Consuelo on "Marcus Welby, MD". The couple lived in Los Angeles and in Rosarito Beach, Baja Mexico, where they did volunteer work with the Red Cross. In retirement, Dr. Rosewall greatly enjoyed golf and retained his avid interest in reading and learning, an avocation which emerged during his early years in Blue Earth and was pursued his entire life.

Beloved for his wide-ranging curiosity, sharp intellect and gentle nature, Rosy will be deeply missed by his wife, Elena; his daughter, Pam with husband, Stan; sister-in-law, Diane; Elena's daughter-in-law, Ruth; and granddaughters, Maggie and Jessie with husband Dean and son Duncan; his tiny dog, Hercules; and his devoted friends of all ages.